Monday “Read my shirt day”
Tuesday University colors day! BYU gold and BLUE
Wednesday Career Hat Day. Ainsley was a Cowgirl and Gracie was a Rockstar Mom.
Thursday is Pajama Day
Friday Dr. Seuss day. Garth and I read in the girls classes.
Grandpa is one of our best buddies!! He took snowball to the hamster doctor and discovered the tumor was effecting his teeth/eating and he needed to be taken care. We said good bye and thank you to grandpa for being an expert!!
we do homeschool. After my kids go to school – the come home and we play home school. (We play and they learn!)
maybe Emi isn’t the baby anymore! She is bring a big help
my favorite time of day
sometimes I try new things with my hair. Sometimes I don’t do anything. Sometimes people comment on how much they love it! Most times that is when I have bed head – like straight out of bed and didn’t do my hair head.
my favorite, consistent, best client is my mother! I started my graphic design career in the 6th grade when I worked at her secretaries desk after hours at Hyde Park Middle School (1994) when she became an Administrator. Here I am nearly TWENTY YEARS later doing the same things!! I have done new logos, business cards, maps, tshirts for all of her schools at the family discounted rate of free meals and babysitting. The most exciting is now my girls will be at her school!!! We are SO SO SUPER DUPER EXCITED! I have done panthers, road runners, gladiators, cougars, flyers, desert hawks, and now the STALLIONS!
this is a dress that grAnnie gave to Gracie when she was little.
Emi wanted to be like her big sisters and read this book for our Audio Book Library
Astrid has two teeth on bottom and they are adorable!!!! They look like little hippo teeth. She is getting her two top teeth now!
it’s blurry. But look close. They are in there!
she would be 100 years old today. She died 10 years ago on Valentines. This time 10 years ago I was falling in Love with Garth! I have to say that Grandma J must have been involved in getting us together!
Explaining my expectations. Teaching my girls about being patient and saving money.
Sometimes (most all the time) I take pictures of the things that I want to buy and I will text them to Garth. Like this new 12 passenger van I saw at school drop off, these nerd glasses at Costco, Chocolate dipped strawberries. We also share an amazon account and we continually add items to our wish lists.
I like dreaming big! I also like working hard! Usually I get what I want. So if I can’t get it, I decide I don’t want it. Or figure out a way to get it. I am determined. I am a dreamer. I am a hard worker. I am patient. I am a deal finder. I am a mother teaching her children to do all the things I do (better). I still stick with my rule of at least using the item 1 time for each dollar spent. So if I buy a shirt for $7 I have wear it at least 7 times.
this is our life lately. Valentines day was wonderful!!
getting to be a big girl. She plays in the mirror during preschool and eats in her high chair with us at mealtime
Sunday Morning getting ready for church at 1:00. Our typical Sunday goes a little like this:
6:30am girls can’t seem to sleep in. But we send them back to bed anyways!
7:00am girls finally STARVING can’t stay in bed another minute!
7:30am big girls help little girls eat breakfast and they play downstairs while Garth and I chat, shower, and get ready for church.
9:00am Garth heads to church for meetings to help organize the day-to-day happenings of our Ward (congregation).
10:00am I get on my computer and spend my time doing Family History! I LOVE LOVE finding my old dead people and linking them into my family tree! I have a completed 5 year generation sheet and am working on filling in all information for siblings of those 5 generations. I also am converting Grandma J’s typewriter book into an ePub book right now (10 years work in progress).
11:00am start getting ready for church. Girls have their pretty dressed picked out Saturday night. I start doing fancy hair with curls and braids.
12:00am Leave for Church. (Pull out of the driveway usually around 12:30) Everyone is responsible for their own church bag. We bring journals, pencils/crayons/markers, and scriptures. No toys – except for the baby.
12:45am find our usual seat on the first row behind the deacons. Garth finds us and gives hugs and kisses to everyone!
1:00pm Garth sits on the stand and watches us. He can’t read lips – but I still try and talk to him and send him facial messages. He smiles. The girls give him thumbs up!! I try and make him giggle sometimes. It usually doesn’t work…..but I still try. This is the Sacrament hour of church. The most important part of the day. This is where we renew our covenants made at baptism by partaking of the bread and water blessed by the Priests.
This is the prayer on the bread:
3 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen. (Book of Mormon, Moroni, Chapter 4)
And the prayer for the water. (It says wine in Moroni, in the Book of Mormon but we have received modern revelation to substitute wine for water):
2 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen. (Book of Mormon, Moroni, Chapter 5)
2:00pm Emi & Ainsley go to Jr. Primary Sharing Time. Gracie goes to her Sunday School class where they learn the simple gospel principles. And I go to my Sunday school class where I am learning about the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History.
3:00pm Gracie goes to Senior Sharing time. Emi and Ainsley go to their separate aged Sunday School classes. I get to go to Relief Society Meeting – The Relief Society is the oldest and largest women’s organization in the world. Relief Society was established in 1842 for women 18 years of age and older. Its purpose is to build faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and help those in need.
4:00pm Church is over. But we stay and eat snacks in the Kitchen. Garth and I sing in the choir together. The girls play in the nursery.
5:00pm We head home and eat. Usually a fresh hot out of the delay timer cooked oven.
6:00pm everyone in PJs and ready for bed.
It is a full day! The best day of my week! It is a sacrifice! Going to church most of the time juggling all the kids by myself is hard. But I can do hard things! “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (New Testament, Philippians, Chapter 4)
And one of my favorite hymns fourth verse sings: “Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven;” (Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 27. Praise to the Man).
And I like getting blessings from Heaven.
Is a writer!!!! She comes home everyday with lots of writing. She loves loves loves to write! This says “I love my mom because she takes me to Disneyland”.
When big girls are at school I record books on my iphone voice memos so she big girls can listen to them at night at bedtime. (I’m only one mom and 4 girls need me at bedtime, along with dishes and cleaning the house). It gets several birds with one stone because I read to Emi during the day (recording) and others reap the benefits at night. Gracie at night records voice memos for me to listen of her reading to me (my phone). This allows me to be in 4 places at one time. Pretty genius!!
During my last minutes of tucking Ainsley in bed while holding Astrid on her bed, we talked about one day she & AJ will sleep in bunk beds together. Ainsley said to me “Mom, when am I going to be the oldest in the family?” I kind of giggled… And explained she will never be the oldest. That is how it works. Gracie is the oldest in our family. Just like Uncle Jimmy Lea is the oldest in my family. I am #4. I have no idea what it is like being the oldest. Then she asked, “What about after Gracie dies?” I told her “Nope! Not even then” and explained to her that we are a family forever!! Garth and I were married in the temple and we are sealed for time and all eternity. Then Ainsley gave me a huge hug and kiss. And laid down ready to sleep. I am not sure what got her wondering…..but hopefully I solved her worry for the day.
I love using technology at bedtime! I love my girls!
Gracie is trimming her nails on her own. Sometimes my little girl gets to be big and it makes me want to stop time.
this week it is Secret Garden.
